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The blacksmith at the glowing forge.
Argyll and Bute

Strachur Smiddy Museum and Crafts

A village blacksmith's shop at Strachur, worked by four generations of Montgomerys and kept as a museum with a working forge.

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Welcome

The Strachur Smiddy is an old blacksmith's shop in the Clachan of Strachur, the old centre of the village on Loch Fyne.

It probably began as a thatched cottage, and four generations of the Montgomery family worked the forge here until it finally closed in the 1950s; then its interior was left untouched for forty years.

A descendant, Cathie Montgomery, set out to bring it back, and with lottery money, local grants and five years of fundraising it reopened as a museum in 1997. Inside are some eighty tools and implements from a working smithy, and a real forge fire and bellows, which a volunteer blacksmith brings to life most weekends, making fire pokers in the old way and answering questions as he works. There is a craft shop alongside. The smiddy opens on summer weekend afternoons; check the dates before you go.

A short drive awayGlenbranterA forest hamlet by Loch Eck in Cowal, once Harry Lauder's estate, with a waterfall gorge walk and a wildlife hide.5 min by roadSee itThe Allt Robuic tumbling through its green gorge.
Before you go

In 2025 the smiddy opened from late May to late September, 1pm to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays; check next season's dates on its site.

It is in the Clachan of Strachur, just off the A815 behind the petrol station.

Season
Summer weekends, 1pm to 4pm.
Where
Clachan of Strachur, PA27 8DG.
Where it is

Strachur, on Loch Fyne.

Close byAt Strachur.
  1. Pines on a point, mirrored in the still water of Loch Eck.Loch EckA long, quiet loch in the Argyll Forest Park, with red squirrels on its shores and the rare powan in its depths.7 miles 11 min by road
  2. The wooded shore of Loch Eck.Jubilee Point, Loch EckA picnic spot halfway along Loch Eck, in the Argyll Forest Park, with red squirrels on the shore and the powan in the depths.7 miles 11 min by road
  3. White cottages with black roofs beside a loch, timber-clad building in foregroundInver, Strathlachlan7 miles 12 min by road
  4. Old Castle LachlanOld Castle LachlanThe ivy-hung ruin of the Maclachlans' 15th-century castle on Loch Fyne, bombarded by a government warship in 1746.8 miles 12 min by road
  5. The Tinkers' Heart, white quartz pebbles set in a heart in the old road surface.Tinkers’ Heart8 miles 11 min by road
Directions
The Allt Robuic tumbling through its green gorge.AttractionsGlenbranter2.7 miles
A coffee on a timber table at the Boat Shed.CafeThe Boat Shed Café6.2 miles over the water
A stone cottage with a slated roof sits nestled among dense woodland, two paddleboards resting on the lawn in front.LochgoilheadRed Squirrel CottageSleeps 6 · 6.4 miles
Seal Cabin, Argyll and ButeLochgoilheadSeal CabinSleeps 2 · 6.4 miles
A dark timber cabin with a pitched metal roof stands among ferns and birch trees.CairndowKabnSleeps 2 · 9.2 miles
A walker on Ardentinny Beach under the trees.AttractionsArdentinny Beach11 miles
Chilled counter and shelves of jars inside the Loch Fyne Deli and ShopRestaurantsLoch Fyne Oyster Bar13 miles
The Fyne Ales farm buildings in the glen from above.AttractionsFyne Ales13 miles
Loch Goil between steep, wooded hills.AttractionsLoch Goil17 miles
The Daily for 18 October, from Scotland with love. Golden-hour light catches a shadowed mountain above a loch, rust-coloured moorland in the foreground

The Daily

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the smiddy, and when each is next free.

A stone cottage with a slated roof sits nestled among dense woodland, two paddleboards resting on the lawn in front.Red Squirrel Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Lochgoilhead
  • 6 miles from the smiddy
Check datesSeal Cabin, Argyll and ButeSeal Cabin
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Lochgoilhead
  • 6 miles from the smiddy
Check datesA dark timber cabin with a pitched metal roof stands among ferns and birch trees.Kabn
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Cairndow
  • 6 miles from the smiddy
Free 17–19 NovA white harled house with crow-stepped gables catches the sunset glow above a loch, yellow flowering shrubs in the foreground.Glenstriven House
  • To stay
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 15 miles from the smiddy
Free 25–27 OctPlaces to stayEvery stay in Argyll and ButeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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